Celestial Objects

Messier 99

Galaxies

Citation Formats

General Reference

Space and Astronomy Atlas. "Messier 99." Accessed September 2, 2026. https://space.interactiveatlas.org/celestial-objects/messier-99.

APA Style

Space and Astronomy Atlas. (n.d.). Messier 99. Retrieved September 2, 2026, from https://space.interactiveatlas.org/celestial-objects/messier-99

BibTeX

@misc{spaceandastronomyatlas-messier-99,
  author = {Space and Astronomy Atlas},
  title = {Messier 99},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://space.interactiveatlas.org/celestial-objects/messier-99},
  note = {Accessed September 2, 2026}
}

Messier 99, also known as M99, the Coma Pinwheel or NGC 4254, is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices and a member of the Virgo Cluster, discovered by Pierre Mechain in 1781. It lies roughly 50 to 56 million light-years from Earth and displays a notably asymmetric, grand-design spiral structure, with one arm more extended than the other, an effect attributed to gravitational interaction with a neighboring galaxy.

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